Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a model's fashion size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips
The stride of my steps
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please
And to a man
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees
Then they swarm around me
A hive of honey bees.
I say
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth
The swing of my waist
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back
The sun of my smile
The ride of my breasts
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say
It's in the click of my heels
The bend of my hair
The palm of my hand
The need for my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me.

Women Leaders for the 21st Century
2007

From a peacemaker who returned to her native Afghanistan after the
fall of the Taliban to help women run for political office to a
Dominican woman who walked down the East Coast in a wedding dress to
increase awareness about domestic violence, this year's 21 Leaders
for the 21st Century demonstrate the risks that women are willing to
take to make changes in the world.Source: www.truthout.org/issues_06/010207WA.shtml

Why Women's Libido Wanes

When sexual desire cools in middle-aged women, as it does for an
estimated 40 million Americans, experts have often suspected a cold
fact: The natural decline in the sex hormone testosterone that
typically begins about five years before menopause.

But a new study suggests that it's not necessarily reduced
testosterone that cause women to lose that loving feeling, but
fluctuations in levels.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania followed 333 women
between ages 35 and 47 for four years, measuring their hormone levels
every six to nine months.

They found that women who reported decreased libido typically had
testosterone levels similar to those of women with sustained desire.
However, women who showed the greatest variation in hormone levels
were three times more likely to be sexually disinterested. The
researchers presented their findings Tuesday at the annual meeting of
the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Although commonly considered a "male hormone," women also produce
small amounts of testosterone in their ovaries and adrenal glands to
help maintain muscle strength, as well as contribute to sex drive.
Prior to the onset of menopause, levels naturally begin to wane --
along with sexual desire in an estimated 45% of those perimenopausal
women. After natural or surgical menopause, testosterone production
drops even more.

Fluctuation can occur for several reasons, including the time of
day.

"We do know that testosterone levels tend to be higher in the
morning and lower in the evening," notes Michael P. Born, MD,
professor of gynecology at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla.

Taking oral estrogen medications, like those used in hormone
replacement therapy, may also have an impact. Hormone therapy can
cause a decrease in the amount of testosterone, Born says.

Testosterone may "drastically drop to levels that could be
manifested into a decrease in desire," says sexual health expert Lana
Holstein, MD, of the University of Arizona School of Medicine. She is
also director of Women's Health at Canyon Ranch Health Resort and the
author of the book How to Have Magnificent Sex: The Seven Dimensions
of a Vital Sexual Connection.

"This is why when we give a woman estrogen for vaginal dryness or
hot flashes, it can cure those symptoms, but often leaves her with a
lack of desire," she tells WebMD. "Not only does menopause lower
testosterone levels, but the treatments for it affects levels of ...
testosterone."

Still, both experts note that testosterone is only one factor
among many that can influence a waning sex drive. "Stress,
depression, and use of SSRIs [selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors, a class of antidepressants that includes Prozac and
Zoloft] are very big factors," says Born.

Other factors include vaginal dryness, depression, and children
living at home.

"Obviously, testosterone is important, but even women who may not
necessarily feel sexual can still enjoy sex," Holstein tells WebMD.
"Once they get started, everything is fine and they enjoy the sexual
experience. The key is to pay attention in how you set up your
lifestyle so you can provide situations for sexual
opportunities."Source: Sid Kirchheimer, my.webmd.com/content/article/1738.55768

Douching Linked to Higher Risk of Vaginal
Infections

Women who douche may think they are doing something good for their
bodies, but they really are disturbing their own, protective
bacterial balance. A new study confirms that women who douche at
least once a month are more than 40% more likely to have a mild
vaginal infection than women who never douche.

Researchers say it's the largest study to date on the effects of
douching on vaginal health. It appears in the October issue of
Obstetrics and Gynecology.

The study involved 1,200 women at high risk of contracting a
sexually transmitted disease (STD) and found that douching increased
the risk of a common infection known as bacterial vaginosis (BV).
Women who had douched within the last month were 40% more likely to
have the infection, and the risk of infection doubled if the woman
had douched within the last week.

Although previous research has also linked douching to an
increased risk of HIV and other STDs and cervical cancer, researchers
say douching is a remarkably common practice in the U.S. About 40% of
the women in the study reported douching at least once a month.

Most women in the study said they douched for symptoms, such as
odor, or for hygienic reasons. Both reasons for douching were
associated with a higher risk of bacterial vaginosis. The infection
is caused by excessive amounts of a certain type of bacteria that
crowd out other, healthier types of bacteria normally found in the
vagina.

Symptoms of bacterial vaginosis include a grayish-white discharge
and fishy odor, but up to 50% of the women with bacterial vaginosis
don't have any symptoms. Most non-pregnant women with the infection
do not require treatment, but bacterial vaginosis can cause
complications in pregnant women.

Researchers say douching increases the risk of infection by
altering the normal bacterial balance in the vagina. Nearly 90% of
the women in the study used two major store brands of douches, and
the study found both brands had similar effects on the vaginal
flora.

Study author Roberta B. Ness, MD, MPH, of the University of
Pittsburgh, and colleagues, says that bacterial vaginosis has also
been linked to acquisition of HIV, preterm birth, and pelvic
inflammatory disease, which means the study's findings add to growing
concerns about the adverse health effects of douching.Source: Jennifer Warner, my.webmd.com/content/article/1840.57971

Most women in business leadership? Russia #,1 U.S.
# 22 Almost 1/3 of U.S. businesses hare no women in senior
management.

Most gender equality overall? Iceland # 1, U.S. 45
The U.S. fell from 28th in 2015 to 45th in 2016. This is due to a
more transparent measure for determining estimated earned income
and other countries making bigger strides in closing the gap.

Inside
the minds of women who have sex with boysLaura Lynn Cross, 36, charged with sexual battery in Ohio after
giving birth to her former students child, joins the growing
number of women accused or convicted of having sex with adolescents.
About two weeks ago, a Georgia woman, Angelene McAnulty, 25, was
charged with having sex with a 15-year-old boy. Last week, Lee
Annette Williams, 50, of North Carolina, was charged with statutory
rape of a former student when the now-22-year-old man was 14.

What is going on in the minds of these women?

First, there is the obvious: In order for an adult to manipulate
an adolescent to have sex, that adult has to have little regard for
free will. The adolescent in such a scenario  relatively new to
sexual encounters and potentially worried about the consequences of
saying no  would be ill-equipped to refuse the advances of his
teacher.

What sort of women have so little regard for the autonomy of
others? Generally, they are women whose own boundaries were shattered
in childhood or adolescence. It is cliché, but also true, that
sexual offenders were most often victims themselves (whether of
sexual misconduct or physical violence or significant emotional
violence).

As I have said before, theres no original evil left in the
world; everyone is just recycling pain now.

If some of the most intense dramas in a persons life have
been ones of being overtaken, the notion of heartlessly wielding
power or, conversely, yielding to it again can be a nearly
irresistible dynamic.

Women who sexually abuse boys may also have less control over
their actions due to illnesses like bipolar disorder or impulse
control disorder, sometimes coupled with substance abuse.

But there is also a cultural problem here: I would venture that a
significant percentage of Americans still believe that a 15-year-old
boy who has sex with his teacher is a conqueror, not a victim. And
women who are now 25 or 36 or 50 years old were certainly raised in a
culture that promoted that view.

I have heard men joke very recently about how much they wish
young, pretty female teachers of theirs had abused them.
Of course, they have no idea what the emotional fallout could, in
fact, have been.

Five years ago, I criticized actor Adam Sandler for his starring
role in a comedy called Thats My Boy, which
celebrated sex between a 13-year-old and his pretty teacher and
grossed almost $37 million at the box office.

Sandler never apologized. Hes still a megastar. Imagine what
kind of career he would have now if his film had been a laugh fest
about a 13-year-old girl whose male teacher rapes her,
repeatedly.

Part of the trouble in getting people to recognize the very real
damage done to adolescents and young teens who have sex with adult
women is that males have to be sexually stimulated for intercourse to
occur. In these cases, they must penetrate their assailants. Too many
people interpret that to mean that the male in the scenario must be
partly responsible for what happens.

It isnt so. A naive person with an appetite can be tempted
to eat poisonous food. A young, innocent, thirsty person will drink
tainted water. Sexual appetites are just as commanding. The poison
conveyed by an adult female authority figure who manipulates an
adolescent or young teen into an aroused state is just as toxic.Source: www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/08/19/inside-minds-women-who-have-sex-with-boys.html